6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
In the year 20XX, a swarm of engineered super-zombies have covered the entire world. But even this cannot dete Aya's determination to track down her father's killer. With sword in hand and wearing nothing but her trademark bikini and cowboy hat, she sets off to settle the score. Aya is joined on her path to vengeance by the chubby Katsuji and the gun-toting Reika. Together, they hack, slash, shoot and bounce their way through a sea of the undead to reach the final showdown with a mad scientist and Aya's fated duel with her own sister.
Starring: Eri Otoguro, Tomohiro Waki, Tarô Suwa, Manami Hashimoto, Chise NakamuraForeign | 100% |
Horror | 54% |
Action | 23% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
I know absolutely nothing about the “Onechanbara” video game series, but title anything “Bikini Samurai Squad” and I’m all yours for 90 minutes. It’s an enticing title, right? Imagine “The King’s Speech: Bikini Samurai Squad” or “The Tree of Life: Bikini Samurai Squad.” Now you have to see the movie. Well, it pains me to report that the raincoat crowd should stay miles away from this Japanese stinker, which fails to provide a satisfactory amount of swimsuited justice. Instead, it’s an awful futuristic horror actioner slapped together with spare change, attempting to translate the martial art fluidity of a video game to the big screen, only to forget storytelling essentials. It’s drab, amateurish, and hideously performed. Heck, even the titular bikini is a disappointing piece of fuzzy costuming unworthy of top billing. This could’ve been a blast. Instead, it’s utterly incompetent.
In the future (which the movie lists as “20XX” for reasons unknown), evil scientist Dr. Sugita (Taro Suwa) has managed to decimate most of the Earth’s population, creating a zombie empire that’s destroyed families and ravaged Japan. On the hunt for revenge is Aya (Eri Otoguro), a silent, bikini-clad warrior with distinctive powers of defense, crossing the land with obese partner Katsuji (Tomohrio Waki), who’s madly searching for his lost sister. On their quest to rid the world of crafty zombies, the duo come across Reiko (Manami Hashimoto), a busty, bikini-free bruiser also on her way to execute Dr. Sugita. Teaming up for better odds, the gang is forced to battle their way out of a few minor scrapes with the persistent undead, finally arriving at the madman’s country compound, a place of macabre medical mischief that contains several devastating surprises for the trio, blocking their attempts to end Dr. Sugita’s reign of terror.
Softness is the dominant force during the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. While certain aspects of the viewing experience do register as unmistakably HD, the picture quality is routinely dispiriting, barely supplying a passable amount of texture to the story's myriad of grotesqueries. Invigorating detail is lost here to a storm of noise, macroblocking, and banding, creating a grungy look that obscures the make-up work and dilutes facial activity. Crush is also a significant problem, turning blacks solid, making evening attacks difficult to read, losing distance and shape. Colors are only moderately stable, diluted to a point of insignificance, despite heavy amounts of gore that feels like it should play a larger role in the intensity of the film. Skintones are flat and unappealing, an amazing development considering all of this bikini action. Image quality is more convincing in the daylight, supplying a brightly lit view of the horror particulars.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA Japanese audio mix (the disc defaults to English dubbed 2.0 DTS-HD MA) sounds a little too clotted considering the relative newness of the production and its digital origin. Dialogue exchanges are held frontal, yet they feel pushed down too far, lacking a direct punch befitting essential exposition and emotional projection. Nothing is completely lost, but there's no verbal force to seize attention, soon swarmed by numerous tinny scoring cues, which feel out only a faintly circular presence. The music is pronounced during certain scenes, causing some uncomfortable competition for attention. Action sequences are forcefully executed, with blunt attention to sound effects (swift movements with steel objects are easily recognized), but there's only a minor dimensional sensation with wild swordplay and flying weapons. Low-end is barely engaged outside of a few thumpy soundtrack cuts.
There are no supplementary features on this disc.
Action plays a major part in the picture, swallowing the effort entirely in the third act, where Aya faces off against a personal opponent in the middle of what looks to be the backyard of an industrial park -- an overgrown field in dire need of a mow. It's an extensive battle between two vaguely magical creatures of rage, but only one dresses in a bikini. I'm rooting for her. The climatic face off eats up plenty of screentime, dragged out to a point where it simply doesn't matter who wins or loses, it just needs to end. It's sentiment I felt repeatedly while watching "Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad," zooming from extreme curiosity to utter disinterest as the feature unfolded. Here's a message for the Japanese film industry: don't promise a blowout bikini bash with zombies unless you plan to take the invitation seriously.
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